THE WATER HORSE: LEGEND OF THE DEEP

As with many creatures -- baby chicks, bunnies, kittens -- they're cute when they're small, and then they grow up.

That's what happens with the title character in "The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep." Even though it is a mythical creature, it's far more convincing when it's a wee thing than when it's the size of a small dinosaur and leaping through the water like the whale in "Free Willy."

"The Water Horse," set in 1942 Scotland, is about a lonely boy named Angus MacMorrow (Alex Etel), who is both drawn to and deathly afraid of the water. Before his father left to fight in World War II, he told Angus a tide pool was a strange, enchanted place and that's where the boy finds a mysterious egg.
He hides it away from his mother (Emily Watson) and older sister in his father's workshop. It hatches just as the family's home, a lodge where his mother is head housekeeper, is overrun by newly billeted soldiers.

Angus names the water horse Crusoe and keeps it tucked out of sight in the workshop and bathtub. It's growing by leaps and bounds, however, and eventually must be plopped into the nearby loch, which happens to be under surveillance by the military. Angus finds an unlikely ally in reticent handyman Lewis Mobray (Ben Chaplin), but it's impossible to keep a beastie a secret for very long.

"The Water Horse" is blessed with enchanted scenery courtesy of New Zealand, where most of the movie was filmed, and with young Etel. He may look familiar if you caught the excellent 2005 family drama "Millions," in which he was the younger of two motherless boys grappling with a bag of money that falls into their laps. Trust me, add it to your Netflix list.

Here, he must act against silicone puppets or a tennis ball that would be replaced with computer-generated images, and he also mastered underwater work requiring him to hold his breath for 20 seconds at a time.

The humans (and even a pesky dog) are just fine; it's Crusoe who often looks fake, especially as he sprouts. Shots in which Angus is almost nose to snout with Crusoe are particularly problematic, and the smooth, gray skin doesn't help matters. The magic and illusion work best when Crusoe is a hatchling or seen from afar.

"The Water Horse," directed by Jay Russell ("Tuck Everlasting," "My Dog Skip"), is based on a book by Dick King-Smith, who penned the work that inspired "Babe." Like "E.T.," this fantasy features a fatherless boy with a magical friend.

In this case, Angus' father may not be coming home, and Crusoe helps the lad to grow up and be the protector instead of the protected. Any of its success is thanks to its captivating 13-year-old star and not the watery sea creature he loves.